This morning, I was reading 2 Corinthians 1 in the Amplified Bible (because it’s a fun new take on more traditional versions).  I especially enjoyed verses 3-7:

3 Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance [as they overflow to His followers], so also our comfort [our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation] is abundant through Christ [it is truly more than enough to endure what we must]. 6 But if we are troubled and distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted and encouraged, it is for your comfort, which works [in you] when you patiently endure the same sufferings which we experience. 7 And our hope for you [our confident expectation of good for you] is firmly grounded [assured and unshaken], since we know that just as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort.

In our salvation, we were baptized into Christ’s sufferings.  We literally died with Him (Romans 6:6, 2 Corinthians 4:11; Galatians 2:20) and then were raised to life again with Him.  At times, we feel that suffering profoundly: not just the death on the cross, but suffering as “little Christs” in a world of sin.

But there is good news: Yes, we suffer with Christ, but just as we were baptized into His suffering, so we were baptized into His comfort.  We also have access to the greatest Comforter in the entire universe, and because we died with Him, His comfort is ours in abundance.

Some time ago, I was kneeling on my bedroom floor, cutting fabric for what would be a handmade Christmas present.  Outside my bedroom door, I could hear my parents talking (with several of us, myself included) about a friend whose flights had been canceled so she couldn’t go see her missionary parents for Christmas.  My heart ached for this friend and for her parents, who had been so looking forward to spending Christmas with their daughter.  I thought about how when one member of the body suffers, we all suffer with them.  I was more than willing to feel the sorrow of my friend, but I wondered how rejoicing with those who rejoice fit into our longer-term reality.  It seemed to me that we only heard about the things that were sorrowful; we were rarely called upon to rejoice with those who rejoiced.

Then the Lord spoke to me: “Joy always overcomes sorrow,” He said.

I set down my scissors and rocked back on my heels.  “What do You mean?” I asked.  “There is so much sorrow within the Body of Christ.  If we are weeping with those who weep and mourning with those who mourn, how does joy overcome the sorrow?  We can rejoice with people who are happy, but then something like this comes along and we’re mourning with those who mourn again.”

“Wait and see,” He said.

The next day, I was using the sewing machine on said handmade Christmas present.  Outside my bedroom door, I heard my parents talking with a sibling (or two) about this same friend – the airline had relented and had allowed our friend to get tickets for a day later at a price she could afford.  The rest of the trip was reinstated, and she was going to be with her parents for Christmas!

My heart sang and soared with the news, rejoicing with my friend. I was even more happy for my friend than I had been sad for her.

“See?” God said to me.  “Joy is always stronger than sorrow.”

You see, God comforts us in every situation.  Even in mourning and sadness, He is the God of all comfort.  His comfort brings not only peace, but joy and rejoicing.  It’s His comfort that allows us to comfort others – not so much “Well, I’ve been through this before, and this is what has helped me” as much as “I received comfort from the Lord when I was in a situation similar or different than yours, and I can now comfort you with His comfort to me.”

7 And our hope for you [our confident expectation of good for you] is firmly grounded [assured and unshaken], since we know that just as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort.